Jerome shivered in the air, tears streaming down his face. He had been strong, once, not long ago. Or thought himself strong, at least. No more. Not since Nallit. Jerome lifted the stump at the end of his right arm, the remaining fingers of his left hand -- just thumb and pinky -- to scratch the stump's surface. He couldn't bring himself to make contact. It itched something terrible, yet he didn't dare scratch. Nallit had burned the hand a little at a time, amputating it in sections to prevent the spread of infection. The missing portions of his body still hurt, a phantom pain that haunted the few moments of peace he had.

Looking down at the island below, Jerome had a momentary fantasy of plunging to his death. The thing crouched in the web of his thoughts like a spider froze him into immobility. For several seconds it turned over the suicidal ideation before dismissing it as impossible and retreating into its hiding spot. Jerome could not jump to his death while Nallit held him aloft. Nor could he ever knowingly endanger his life. Nallit intended to keep him around for a long time to come, slowly carving him up and devouring every last shuddering sob.

His attention went back to Nallit as the man grunted. "Found the po-po. You're gonna have your own island full of armed guards, Twelve. Ain't that sweet of me? I'm all 'in a relationship' status with you. It's till death do us part, baby. And I call you baby because you cry like a tiny toddler too tired to tweep. Look, you're doing it now! Lighten up, butter cup. I got other targets to play with for a while. Just as soon as I get you situated in a safe place, Twelve."

Jerome went to his butt as soon as Nallit set him down, averse to standing on feet covered in blisters from being forced to wear wet shoes. He watched armed guards pop out from around a corner with drawn guns. They obviously were trying to shoot, but Nallit somehow prevented them from acting. Then Nallit had the three of them floating immobile in the air, eyes wide in terror. One at a time, Nallit touched their heads, filling them with mental spiders.

When the three men were released, they bowed to Nallit as if he were God Himself. "We will protect Twelvle!"

Nallit nodded. "Of course you cocksuckers will. But you're not enough. Watch the package while I round up more babysitters."

The guards rushed forward and pulled Nallit into a building. One remained near the door to watch for the return of Nallit while the two others bundled Jerome into an office and sat him in a chair.

Jerome absentmindedly bumped the stump of his right hand when he sat down, instinctively attempting to lower himself into the seat with a hand that no longer existed. He gave in to the tidal wave of misery and began to sob once more. Nallit would leave for a time, but he would be back. Any respite was only temporary. The inmates wouldn't hold Nallit's attention for long, if they even still lived. Whoever had diverted the building from its fall had certainly stepped into the limelight for a time. Jerome had never seen Nallit look conflicted before that moment. The man had wanted to confront the perpetrators immediately, but decided it was too risky to bring Jerome along. Too risky.

One of the guards spoke. "Should we give him medical attention?"

"I . . . I don't know," said the second.

"We need to protect him," the first said. "Protect means keep alive. And if his injuries are life-threatening, we need to do something about them."

The second guard pondered that a moment. "We can't trust doctors. Get a first aid kit and slather him up with triple antibiotic ointment. Maybe some bandages. That's it."

"No doctors," the first guard agreed.

The door opened to reveal Nallit with what looked like a dozen other guards. "These are your new best friends. Protect Twelve. Kill anyone else who comes near this building. And make sure I don't have to go looking for him when I'm back from my other business." Nallit's face screwed up in rage. "I swear I will throw a fucking rock at this planet if my time with Twelve ends early. Got it?"

Everyone bowed low to Nallit, obeying the spiders in their minds. Jerome squeezed his eyes shut to get the image out of his mind. He didn't need any reminders of Nallit's omnipotence.